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Senior Leadership Team


PatriciaPatricia Ann Ritter, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Executive Director

After serving as Assistant Executive Director for 18 years, Dr. Pat Ritter was named Executive Director of TLC-The Treatment & Learning Centers in February 2009. During her tenure, Dr. Ritter has served as a vital member of TLC's management decision-making team, and her key achievements include creating with a colleague the philosophy, model, staffing pattern and administration policy for the Katherine Thomas K-5 special education school which has grown to a full high school program, developing sought after therapeutic groups for children with sensory processing and autistic spectrum disorders, and developing a highly regarded special education preschool program based on the DIR®/ Floortime Model™ for early intervention.  

 

As Executive Director of TLC-The Treatment and Learning Centers, Dr. Ritter leads a 12 million organization with 200+ staff at three locations offering multiple programs including The Outpatient Services, The Katherine Thomas School and The Early Learning Center. In this role Dr. Ritter also oversees the development, fundraising and marketing efforts of the organization and works with TLC’s voluntary Board of Trustees as well as being the primary staff liaison for TLC’s Consumer Advisory Board and Medical Advisory Board.

 

Dr. Ritter is responsible for overall program quality throughout the organization, including the organization’s budget, recruitment and retention, staff supervision, program quality improvement and outcomes measures, consistently resulting in outstanding consumer satisfaction survey ratings. Dr. Ritter was elected a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 2008, one of the association’s highest honors. She is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class of 2008 and is active on numerous professional and community boards as well as a frequent presenter to many organizations.

 

Dr. Ritter received her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology with a specialty in Child and Adult Language and Second Language Learning from Ohio University. Her three decades as a speech-language pathologist have enabled her to bring a wide and diverse breadth of experience to TLC, but most importantly, Dr. Ritter has been allowed to fulfill her personal goal of making a difference in the lives of others.

 

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Sue LlynSuellyn Sherwood
Chief Financial Officer

Suellyn Sherwood, Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for the planning, organization, and management of TLC The Learning and Treatment Centers financial operations and Human Resources function. In this role, Sherwood implements short and long-range financial plans, policies, and programs of TLC. She assures all financial records and reports are accurately presented on time, and interprets financial statements for the Executive Director, Board, and staff. Sherwood additionally prepares the annual budget with the Executive team; and prepares for the annual certified audit report.

She has over 25 years of auditing and accounting experience, in non-profit organizations as well as corporate and healthcare sectors. This multi-faceted work has taken place throughout the Greater DC Metro area; and is marked by a sequential growth in management and accounting responsibility. Sherwoods extensive experience has allowed a smooth progress into her role as Chief Financial Officer at TLC- The Treatment and Learning Centers.

Suellyn Sherwood earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting and Business Administration at Thiel College, in Greenville, Pennsylvania. She further attained her State of Maryland License as a Certified Public Accountant in May of 1989.

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RhonaRhona Schwartz
High School Director, TLC's Katherine Thomas School

Rhona Schwartz, High School Director at TLC's Katherine Thomas School, is directly responsible for all facets of the high school program since 2004, including administration, hiring and supervising staff, overseeing admissions and outplacement, maintaining state licensure and certifications requirements, program planning and curriculum development and preparing annual budgets. She also develops collaborative relationships with funding sources, institutions of higher education, and other community organizations and agencies to maintain a high quality program.

As an administrator and a classroom teacher, she has more than 25 years of experience working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities. Before joining KTS, Mrs. Schwartz spent over eight years as the Assistant Head of the high school at The Lab School of Washington. In this position she supervised 40 teaching staff and curriculum for over 130 students. Ms. Schwartz left the high school to become the Director of Tutoring, where she supervised 75 active tutors, planned and implemented staff training, managed the annual budget, established partnerships with other institutions and conducted educational workshops.

Mrs. Schwartz received an M.A. in special education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in youth and community studies/sociology from State University of New York at Stony Brook University.

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Cathleen M. Burgess

Lower/Middle School Director, The Katherine Thomas School

Cathy joins KTS as an experienced leader, devoted educator and speech-language pathologist. With over 30 years of experience in both educating and providing services to individuals with disabilities, she brings a strong commitment and dedication to enhancing and enriching the lives and education of these individuals and their families.

Cathy has spent most of her career working within school districts as a clinician, educator, mediator and consultant. As a passionate proponent for individualizing education to meet the specific needs of a child, she brings a strong understanding of the IEP process, the value of a team approach and the knowledge and tools necessary to adapt curriculum to meet different learning styles. She has served on numerous committees and task forces to develop and implement functional learner outcome measures, as well as to expand and advance appropriate developmental curriculums for students in pre-school through high school.

Burgess comes to KTS from The George Washington University (Washington D.C.) where she was Autism Clinical Supervisor and Adjunct Professor, providing education, training and clinical supervision and research assistance to graduate and undergraduate students working with children and adults on the Autism spectrum. She served as a Task Force member of George Washington University Autism Research Center Initiative.

Ms. Burgess earned a Master of Education in Speech Pathology from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theatre from Western Connecticut State College in Danbury, Connecticut. She holds certification in Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association and is licensed as a speech-language pathologist in Washington D.C., and Maine.
She has served as a professional speech-language delegate to Australia, New Zealand, Honduras; and consulted with rural health programs and schools in El Salvador.

KellyKelly L. King
Director, The Early Learning Center

Ms. King, Director of TLC's Early Learning Center, is responsible for staff supervision, training and evaluation. In addition, she is responsible for ensuring developmentally-appropriate practices and that curriculum is implemented as outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Before joining TLC, Ms. King was a full-time teacher at the Quality Care Child Development Center in Hickory, NC, and a co-teacher at the Tutor Time Learning Center in Durham, NC.

Ms. King received her B.A. in elementary education from Lenior-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. She also received infant and toddler certification from the Montgomery County Child Care Association (MCCA) and the 90-hour certification through Montgomery College.

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janet graves-wrightJanet Graves-Wright, MSEd, CCC-SLP
Director of Outpatient Services

Janet Graves-Wright brings a unique perspective to the field of learning disabilities. She has experienced many facets of this field, from her work as a therapist and educator to that as a clinical researcher, an administrator, and an advocate for people with disabilities. As Director of Outpatient Services, Janet Graves-Wright oversees TLC’s Family Hearing Center, the Testing and Tutoring Service, and the Outpatient Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Services.

Ms. Graves-Wright earned a Master of Science in Education in Speech-Language Pathology from Nazareth College of Rochester and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. She also received a B.A. in Spanish from California State University, Chico, and completed doctoral coursework in Speech and Hearing Science at City University of New York. Graves-Wright holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association and is licensed as a speech-language pathologist in Maryland and New York.




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